Protective caps are generally used and required in work areas where the user is subjected to the possibility of being struck by objects. Generally, such protective caps are in the form of a hard shell with a peak at the front of the shell. Proper use of the cap would have the cap level and the head of the user in the shell as deep as possible for proper protection from impact while still permitting visibility. A suspension is generally mounted within the shell to absorb energy from an impact, while a headgear in the shell aids in the proper fit. Frequently a sweatband is also provided in the shell to contact the user's head. A further conventional component is a headband which is mounted to the sweatband and extends to the rear of the shell for engagement at the nape of the neck at the back of the user's head. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,808 which describes a protective cap particularly effective for impact absorbing such as by including spaced energy distributing points around the lower periphery of the shell.
There are times when it is necessary or desired to reverse the position of the cap so that the peak is in the rear and not at the front. This reversal of position would be done when the user wears other equipment at the front such as a welding helmet, face shield and goggles. A reversal of the position of the cap might also be desired in certain work instances where the user wishes to get as close as possible to the work and thus not have the peak interfere with such close working. Safety officials, in fact, often require that additional protection, such as welding helmets, face shields and goggles be mounted on an appropriate protective cap. When used with certain eye and face protection a protective cap should be worn in the reverse position with the peak in the rear. This position provides the greatest degree of protection, balance and stability where such eye/face protection is used.
Recently some safety officials have expressed concern about employees continuing to wear their protective caps in the reverse position after the eye and face protection has been removed. By continuing to wear the cap in the reverse position, the protection which would be afforded at the front from the rigid peak is negated.
Traditional protective caps require the user to reverse the headband within the cap to wear it properly in the rear position. The process must be reversed to put the cap back into the peak front position.
it would be desirable if a protective cap could be provided wherein the headband itself may be moved from one position to another to thereby facilitate the reversal in the wearing position of the cap. The concept of providing a headband or nape strap which can be moved to different positions is not new. Bowers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,354,468, for example, discloses a nape strap which could be mounted in different positions by the selective engagement of mounting elements on the nape strap with corresponding elements on the sweatband which is referred to as a headband in the '468 Bowers patent. A purpose of being able to change the mounting position of the nape strap is to provide the ability to mount the nape strap in a conventional wearing position or to mount it stored within the shell.
A commercial protective cap marketed under the name TRIPLE CROWN by Jackson Products includes a suspension that allows the cap to be worn turned about with the bill or peak in the back without having to reverse the system. This cap adjusts to three crown heights and includes a soft vinyl cushion that goes completely around the head. The nape strap is reversibly attached. To accomplish this reversible attachment of the nape strap, the nape strap is completely disengaged and then re-secured.
It has been suggested to the assignees of this application that a reversible protective cap could be provided by pivotally mounting the headband or nape strap. A prototype was made wherein a headband or nape strap was mounted to the inside of the sweatband (i.e. with the sweatband between the shell and headband). The pivotal mounting was off-center in that it was closer to one end of the cap than the other. Additionally, a nape strap or headband was used of conventional construction wherein accommodating recesses were provided at only one location at each end of the headband. Further, in the prototype a conventional sweatband was used wherein the padding did not extend completely around the sweatband. As the result, with this prototype it was necessary to readjust the length of the headband when the position of the cap was reversed. Moreover, when the cap was worn with the peak at the rear, there was no padding in the desired locations of the sweatband and there was interference with the ears by the headband due to the lack of ear accommodating structure in the reverse position and because the headband was mounted closer to the head than the sweatband at its mounting location.